Mumbai Indians' (MI) top-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav has been exceptional for the defending champions for the past 3 years. He has scored over 400 runs each time while no other uncapped player has done it even twice.

It looked as if he was a certainty in the Indian team when the squads for all three formats down under were announced. However, the selectors ignored the Mumbaikar yet again to the shock of many.

Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir too believes that this is the right time to give Yadav a national call-up taking into consideration his form, age, and mental and physical fitness.

Gambhir told ESPNCricInfo, "Surya is a guy, he’s seen First-Class cricket, he has dominated First-Class Cricket. He has been very consistent in IPL as well. He’s 30, he’s got another 6-7 years where he can actually deal with the ups and downs of international cricket."

"He can handle the pressure as well This is the right time. The way he is batting, he is in complete control of himself. And, not only in T20 cricket. Don’t label him just as a T20 cricketer. He could be a seamless 50-over cricketer as well," he added.

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Suryakumar Yadav had moved to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) after playing just one game for MI. He was groomed by KKR before letting him go at the wrong time. He had become a mature cricketer by then and proved his worth batting higher up the order for MI.

Gambhir said, "I feel sorry for KKR. You groom a guy for 4 years and then you let him go when he could have actually been the main guy, and after he went to Mumbai from thereon look at the kind of player he has become."

"KKR’s loss is actually Mumbai’s gain. First, from Surya’s point-of-view, it is a huge loss for KKR. Yes, he is a finished product because he is at the right age. Sometimes we push players too early because of their talent,” the 30-year-old added.

(With inputs from ESPNCricInfo)